(BIVN) – An Economic Impact Study on Short-Term Vacation Rentals was presented to the Hawaiʻi County Council on Tuesday. 

Consultants, Hunden Partners, discussed the June 2025 study during the Communications, Reports and Council Oversight Committee meeting held in Kona. 

The Council directed the Hawaiʻi County Department of Research and Development to do the study when it passed Resolution 556-24 last year. The department hired Hunden Partners to conduct the study. 

The study reported just over 8,000 active STVR listings on Hawaiʻi island, with the top markets in Kailua-Kona, Waikoloa, and Keaʻau. There is a 65% occupancy rate for those listings, the study says, with a length of a stay averaging 4 days, at an average daily rate of $379. 

slide from presentation to Council

The study examined housing and tourism trends, stakeholder perspectives, case study comparisons, and survey results in an effort to “support County leaders in evaluating the optimal approach to STVR regulation and long-term community development strategy.” 

“Based on this study’s findings, STVRs contribute significant economic value to Hawai’i County and its communities,” the study recommended. “Resident survey respondents indicated that the community is largely in support of tourism and understands the importance of visitor spending to local economy and quality of life. Additionally, case studies of STVR policies worldwide have not identified substantial data that proves bans successfully addressed housing issues. The economic value of the STVR industry is substantial, and a county-wide ban would not be in the best interest of the county’s economy and community at large.”